Communication Studies Newsletter—Aug. 2005
Dr. Scott Myers: Woodburn Professor
“With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have and use it” – Aristotle
The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences recently announced that Dr. Scott Myers will be named as a Woodburn Professor. The Woodburn Professors Award recognizes mid-career faculty members who exemplify the highest potential for accomplishment in teaching, research, and service. Only individuals who are not yet at the rank of full professor are eligible for this recognition. Dr. Myers is the first member of the Communication Studies faculty to be honored with this award.
Besides receiving numerous teaching awards, Dr. Myers is one of the more popular teachers in the department. “The number one person our off-campus students request to be their instructor is Scott Myers,” noted Matthew Martin, Chair of the Communication Studies Department. Since coming to WVU, Dr. Myers has redesigned the undergraduate group communication and business and professional speaking courses and has created graduate courses in group communication and advanced instructional communication.
Dr. Myers is one of the most prolific researchers in the field of communication studies. He has over 50 research publications. His areas of study include instructional communication, group communication, and family communication. Dr. Myers recently co-authored with Dr. Carolyn Anderson the book The Basics of Small Group Communication.
Dr. Myers also has one of the strongest service records of any professor at his stage of his career. Besides being the Director of Graduate Studies, he routinely serves on numerous department and college committees. Dr. Myers is the Executive Director of the Central States Communication Association. He is a former editor of Communication Teacher and continues to serve on several journal editorial boards.
“I am so happy and proud for Scott” exclaimed one of his colleagues, Dr. Maria Brann. “When I came to WVU, I knew I would be working with great researchers and teachers, but I did not know if I would be welcome. Scott was always there to help guide me in the right direction and to listen to me when I had questions. Not only is he one of the top scholars and teachers in our field, but he has also become one of my mentors. I know quite a few others of us here at WVU feel the same way.”
Dr. Myers joined the faculty of WVU in the fall of 2001. He had previously taught at Creighton University, McNeese State University, and Kent State University. Dr. Myers received his doctoral degree from Kent State University and his bachelor and masters degrees from Illinois State University.
“I cannot think of any individual in the College who is more qualified or deserving of this recognition” stated Dr. Martin. “Dr. Myers is outstanding. We (WVU) are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Myers as part of our community. I would not be surprised to wake up one morning and read about Dr. Myers and his accomplishments in USA Today.”
Onward and Upward
After serving the Department of Communication Studies as instructors for the last three year, two individuals have left West Virginia to teach at other universities with their doctoral diplomas in hand. On May 15th, 2005, Jacob L. Cayanus and Michelle L. Paulsel were hooded, receiving their Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degrees from the College of Human Resources and Education. Dr. Richard Walls served as Dissertation Advisor for both graduates.
Dr. Cayanus’ dissertation is titled “Students’ propensity to ask questions: Do cognitive flexibility, teacher self-disclosure, student motives to communicate, and affective learning influence question asking in the classroom.” Dr. Matthew Martin and Dr. Keith Weber served on his dissertation committee. Dr. Cayanus is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rhetoric, Communication, and Journalism at Oakland University which is located in Rochester, Michigan.
Dr. Paulsel’s dissertation is titled “Classroom justice as a predictor of students? perceptions of empowerment and emotional response.” Dr. Rebecca Chory-Assad and Dr. Matthew Martin served on her dissertation committee. Dr. Paulsel is currently an Assistant Professor at Northwestern State University which is located in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The faculty would like to thank both Jacob and Michelle for there years at West Virginia University and wish them the best in their future endeavors.
And those that can?t teach, write books….
“Read not to contradict and confute?nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider” ~ Sir Francis Bacon
Teachers of courses in instructional communication now have an excellent new textbook option, the Handbook of Instructional Communication: Rhetorical & Relational Perspectives. The editors of the handbook are WVU alumnus Dr. Timothy Mottet and two WVU faculty members, Dr. Virginia Richmond and Dr. James McCroskey. A 2006 publication, the handbook is available from Allyn and Bacon publishing.
According to the editors, “the handbook was written to address the contemporary challenges facing teachers and trainers in traditional and nontraditional instructional settings. The chapters explain how instructional communication works, why it works, the effects of instructional communication, and how practitioners can use communication most effectively in instructional settings to enhance student learning” (p. xiii).
Authors of the chapters included current WVU professors Dr. Matthew Martin, Dr. James McCroskey, Dr. Scott Myers, and Dr. Virginia Richmond, former WVU professors Dr. Timothy Plax and Dr. K. David Roach, as well as WVU alumni, including Dr. Joseph Chesebro, Dr. Ann Bainbridge Frymier, Dr. Patricia Kearney, Dr. Linda McCroskey, and Dr. Melissa Bekelja Wanzer.
“Many times a handbook is a large, bulky book of extensive literature reviews that looks impressive on a bookshelf but is seldom read” said Dr. Matthew Martin. “This handbook appears to be much more reader friendly. I believe that my fellow authors did an excellent job in writing chapters on their own areas of expertise in instructional communication.”
